The Fundamentals of a Wonderful and Well Balanced Life

I am using a metaphor of the construction of your dream home to discuss the fundamentals of a wonderful and well balanced life. The first thing you must do is to prepare the building site for home construction. Secondly, the foundation must be strong and built to endure the weight of the home.

Success means many different things to different people. Zig Ziglar said in “See You At The Top”, “the best definition of ultimate success is the use of your God given skills and talents to their fullest extent”. Are you giving 100% of yourself all the time and to all opportunities? Do you have a strong work ethic? Do you add value to other people? Do you have an abundance mentality? Are you a motivator, an encourager and a giver of hope to others?

In your personal growth and development program, you must have an open mind full of curiosity and be willing to change. You must prepare a written plan of wishes and dreams to be turned into goals. The achievement will be based on your values and principles. You must be the right person, do the right things; then and only then, can you have all this wonderful world has to offer. There can be no cruise control or autopilot. You must live aware, intentional and with self discipline.

Happiness is finding purpose and meaning in your life. Live in and enjoy the moment. Appreciate and be grateful for all things especially quality relationships. Strong family relationships create legacy and the memories that will outlive you.

Knowledge is power. Wealth is created by learning and using the basics of financial intelligence. Prepare a budget and live within your means. Do not accumulate credit card debt. Wealth is obtained slowly. Be patient.

Individual health is true wealth. Make an appointment with a doctor to have an annual physical. The three major components of outstanding health are diet, exercise and sleep. It has been said that sleep is the most important. Six to eight hours each night. Exercise means activity. Do some type of activity each day. Walking is excellent. Control your diet because you are what you eat. Limit sweets.

The use of the Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” creates great relationships. Love yourself and others. All lives matter. Have and use good manners; be cordial and kind. We are all created by God and must strive to be the best person we can be in all things. Be accepting, genuine and real.

Items on a List

My name is Kenneth Robert O’Neal; I am a Certified Coach, Trainer and Consultant. I help business owners and individuals achieve their own visions of success. I’m a former CPA and over the years I have helped individuals and companies grow, gain market share, and increase profitability through programs, policies, procedures and systems developed by me and my teams. I believe my experience will help you and I look forward to learning about you and your business as we move together to greatness.

I attended a seminar last week where the moderator kept saying, “there are a certain number of items on a list that will make you: successful, skinny, energized, profitable, you name it, they mention it”. List, list and then another list.

It made me think back to the days when I was working on the marketing plan for my accounting practice in Houston, Texas. I obtained a “Book of Lists” with lists of banks, investment firms, insurance companies, accounting firms, law firms, and on and on. Lists of everything you can imagine. We have all seen lists of the top twenty-five sports teams, ten richest people in the world. It goes on and on. I began wondering what does this all mean, why is it important and who is interested?

The Holy Scriptures contain many lists of things to do and not to do. God gave us the Ten Commandments through Moses. The Apostle Paul gave us the list of the Gifts of the Spirit. Peter in the New Testament listed the qualities of a mature Christian. The lists were inspired by the Lord God. We would be wise to read the lists, heed the lists and follow the instructions.

The early church believers were inspired to come up with two major lists regarding spirituality:

The Seven Deadly Sins – Envy, Pride, Lust, Avarice, Gluttony, Anger, and Slothfulness

The Seven Virtues – Wisdom, Justice, Courage, Temperance, Faith, Love and Hope.

Mahatma Gandhi came with his own lists related to religion even though Gandhi was not a Christian:

1. Wealth without work
2. Pleasure without conscience
3. Knowledge without character
4. Commerce without morality
5. Science without humanity
6. Worship without sacrifice
7. Politics without principle

Gandhi’s list deserves pondering, thinking and possible meditation.

Now you can find just about any kind of list you want to by doing an internet search.

Cordiality

Effective Communication is a contact sport. To get a favorable exchange of facts, information, beliefs and ideas, you must start with a deep-seated belief that the other person is significant, unique and important. They deserve your undivided attention.

You must be sensitive to their feelings. Being cordial brings favor and approval with positive results.

The basic ingredients of cordiality are as follows:

1. A warm natural smile will attract a smile.
2. A solid handshake; a rare remaining display of emotional contact that says, “I appreciate you”.
3. Eye to eye contact is the secret chamber of your soul.
4.  Encouraging words of appreciation open your heart as you speak.